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Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You

By the time we made it down to the village post-breakfast, the fog had dissipated, but the rain had begun.

Even with the fashionable ponchos that were provided, it was only a matter of minutes before I was soaked as my tire kicked water up my back and we peddled though puddles turning into ponds.

Yeah, yeah, not my best look...

But, there was something oddly thrilling about riding down muddy, bumpy hills as water bounced off my helmet and spit in my face. The more dangerous conditions forced me to really be in the moment, and made me realize how often I let my mind wander, and am not. I was forced to concentrate on my environment and the freeing feeling of being thousands of miles from home biking through backroads of Bali villages with complete strangers – in the rain.

We saw the main temple in the center of town (that’s in addition to the compound temples):

We rode through rice fields:

We saw women working together:

We stopped to see a 500-year-old Banyon tree:

From the outside

From Inside the tree!

Me inside the tree!

And finally, we ended the ride going down a hill and over this narrow wooden bridge. The whole time Baz Luhrmann saying, “Do one thing every day that scares you” was going through my head. And, like “wear sunscreen,” it’s a worthy piece of advice. The thrill of successfully doing something that scares you is a rush that can’t be quantified and not much else can make you feel so alive.